Quince Orchard

Ruby Wedding Party

Malcolm and Dianne — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:51:36 +0000

Great day on Sunday for our Ruby Wedding Party. The view from up the lawn as Carole starts her session.Her audience, with Christian looking very comfortable with Alex on his lap!Bex, James and AnnaHannah and ChristianLots of excellent food of courseand just a little bit of drink as well Even Alex checked out the beer!Muzzy, Granddad and MeganThe Twinnies looking as glamorous as ever!My Mum in good form.Meanwhile the little ones enjoying a video inside.Warming up for a good singRachael and the two Johns Things beginning to get noisier! and rowdier!!A bit of bass chorus and Gordon never shy to take the mike.Still up there!Mum enjoying her boy’s performance and who was the smartest little lad on parade - Alexander without a doubt!Meanwhile little Amy enjoyed her first Waylor party.Some of the Waylors posing for our Suzanne. 40 years on! and now the singing really gets going! . and the dancing … Then John did a super speech.which Dianne enjoyed. and the response ..and Dianne “encouraged” to respond as well!A fabulous party and a memorable day. PS… thanks to Suzanne, James M, Bob Fisher, and Chris Scruby for the super photos.

The Shavelles come to town

emma — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:54:28 +0000

Joey, Lorelei and Elliette came to stay with us for a few days. Unfortunately the only day I had my camera along was for a trip to Long Beach to visit the aquarium. Actually, we were initially planning on a whale-watching cruise, but fortunately we wised up and realized that Evie & Elliette might not approve of a 3.5 hour cruise with occasional whale sightings — so we went for the guaranteed, copious Nemo & Flounder sightings at the nearby aquarium instead. But first a brief harbor cruise, as we had promised them a boat ride…Elliette was feeling a little more camera shy…First mates! I guess you can’t really tell we’re on a boat, but we are. I didn’t get any photos of the very impressive and cute napping sea lions on the buoy — I barely had enough arms to make sure that Evie (a) could see them and (b) couldn’t launch herself out of the boat to pet them.Fish!!Good decision, adults…Evie does a little window licking.

Picnic

emma — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:36:41 +0000

Sometimes when I’m working at home, Evie is happy to go to the park with the babysitter… and other times she does everything in her power to lure me away from the laptop. This past week, her tactic was a picnic on the rug, with special guests Lenny, Elmo, and Cookie. She told me, patting the floor, “The rug is fluffy, Mummy, it’s cup of tea time. Let’s have a picnic!” How could you resist?

Peppa Pig PJs

emma — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:23:08 +0000

The highlight of Evie’s day is going to the lobby of our building to check for packages — she is ever hopeful that one of the envelopes or boxes waiting there will contain a Peppa Pig magazine or some other treat for her. Fortunately her hopes are frequently rewarded… like today, when she discovered a pair of Peppa Pig PJs from Muzzy & Granddad! (Even more fortunately for me, she can also be easily convinced to find a shipment of nappies fairly exciting, too, if that’s all that’s in the mail for us that day.) Here she models them… accessorized nattily by the shampoo hair band, also from Muz.

Another Golf Day at Bushey with Captain Suzanne!

Malcolm and Dianne — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:41:22 +0000

Bushey Golf Club Ladies Invitational Tournament. Lady Captain Suzanne, Consort John (taking the photos on the tee), and “best grip” Malcolm (holding John’s camera bag!), were all on duty. The twinnies teed off first ..and then disappeared down the fairway (nice photograph John!) talking nineteen to the dozen I can imagine!Understand it was a super day, but unfortunately no trophies for the girls!

My little Moo

hannahclare — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:21:25 +0000

Italy 2010

Malcolm and Dianne — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:46:12 +0000

Off to Italy with Becky, James and Alexander for 5 super days of wining and dining, and meeting all James aunts, uncles and cousins (and showing off Alexander of course! Alex always available for food! and trying watermelon for the first time. Time for a nap so Nonna Martinelli works her magic!Meanwhile the girls play “thoughts & crosses” becky’s new game and the boys get a card school going! Off out for the local Saints Day celebration.Then a visit to Carlo’s sisters home .. I wonder why Becky’s looking so pleased with herself!!!Back home for a dip in the pool when the sun finally shone! Out for lunch overlooking the Tuscan hills! Alexander with a very proud Nonno Martinelli.and one final shot of Alex looking very pleased with himself at his latest “look no hands” trick.A fabulous “family” time in a beautiful part of Italy - Thanks Carlo and Caroline.

Days in the lives of Chloe & Megan

Malcolm and Dianne — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:24:02 +0000

Sometimes even the most mundane objects make fun toys … like Dianne’s wash baskets!.. or even an old cardboard box. unmistakenly Megan!.. then there’s always cake-making with Mummy!.. making dens is the new game in town - so Muzzies play-house was a bit of a hit over the Bunts kitchen table!including very smart windows!and finally a quick rendition of “she’ll be coming round the mountain” with the stick horses!!… life doesn’t get much better!!

Random catch-up…

emma — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:09:08 +0000

Just a few odds & bobs I found on my phone… Here’s Evie “working” and pulling her latest silly face.For really important work assignments, however, she puts on her collared shirt and turns to pen and paper…Relaxing to a favorite CD at the end of a busy day of work… Evie likes to pull up a chair and sit right in front of the CD player to really listen.Big bed, little girl.

Hammock Hide & Seek

emma — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:05:57 +0000

If there’s a hammock in the house, you can count on Evie to find it. And hide in it so she doesn’t have to share…Who me, hog the hammock? Never!